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CU exceeds $1B in sponsored research funding, $500M at Boulder campus last year

By Elizabeth Hernandez

Staff Writer

Posted:
08/18/2017 09:09:59 PM MDT

Updated:
08/18/2017 09:10:26 PM MDT

Research Technician Matt Gerbert sorts and purifies DNA samples in a lab in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences complex on the University of Colorado in Boulder. (Paul Aiken / Staff Photographer)

The University of Colorado surpassed $1 billion in sponsored research funding across all of its campuses, with the Boulder campus making up $507.9 million of the record-breaking total in the 2016-2017 fiscal year.

The 16 percent increase in funding at the Boulder campus compared to the previous year of grant money marks the second-highest yearly funding total in CU history aside from the fiscal year 2009 through 2010, which saw a one-time influx of federal stimulus money.

Terri Fiez, CU vice chancellor for research and innovation, wrote in a news release that eclipsing $500 million in research funding reflects a growing focus on innovation and collaboration.

"As we improve our ability to work across disciplines, with off-campus partners in government and industry, and with an eye on innovative, entrepreneurial approaches, I anticipate our impact to grow even more," Fiez said. "I couldn't be prouder of our researchers, faculty and staff for reaching this milestone and further cementing our reputation as one of the top research universities in the country."

Research funding — which comes from federal, state and local entities — targets projects to advance research in laboratories and in the field. The money also helps pay for areas such as scientific equipment, travel and salaries for research and support staff and student assistantships.

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But grants don't cover all the costs associated with campus research.

CU typically funds about 8 percent of research costs on its own. In 2015, when CU's total research expenses reached more than $420 million, the campus shelled out more than $32 million of that, according to National Science Foundation data.

Todd Saliman, vice president of finance and budget and chief financial officer for all CU campuses, said the majority of money the university pays for research comes from matching grants that require an institutional match.

"Or you might have a faculty member whose area of research doesn't have a big external funding source, so they might be funded with internal dollars," Saliman said.

Out of 634 institutions, the National Science Foundation data ranked CU as 129th in the amount the university spends on its research.

"To me, what that's saying is we do a very good job of getting grants with relatively comparatively modest institutional investment," Saliman said.

Seventy percent, $355.5 million, of the fiscal year's research funding on the Boulder campus comes from federal agencies; 17 percent stems from international organizations and nonprofits; other universities contribute 7 percent; 5 percent is from industry partners; and 1 percent comes from the state.

The Department of Commerce, The National Science Foundation and NASA are the top three federal funding agencies supporting research on the Boulder campus.

The benefits of research far outweigh the costs, CU said.

Examples of projects the university has been working on thanks to research dollars include: a $1.1 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a "next-generation" vaccine that doesn't require refrigeration and works with just one shot; a $5.9 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand its youth violence prevention work in two Denver neighborhoods; and a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Project Agency resulting in a newly engineered roofing material that can cool structures with zero energy consumption.

"They greatly enhance the undergraduate education," said CU spokesman Ken McConnellogue. "They have a substantial impact with Colorado's economy, trickling down into a lot of sectors. And then, obviously, we're discovering things like flu vaccines or replacement knee tissues that have a direct benefit on people's lives."

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